


to the victor

by Verdantei (Zerrat)



Series: the truth of your universe [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Action, Banter, Established Relationship, F/F, Future Fic, Plot With Porn, Post-fight Adrenaline Sex, Smut, Vague Post-Canon AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-27 00:11:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9936263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zerrat/pseuds/Verdantei
Summary: When Ruby forgoes payment for yet another big job, she hadn’t counted on the strain it would put on her relationship with Weiss. Now on the search for Dust to resupply, Ruby just wishes she could figure out how to fix things between them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, brain, for turning what was a relatively simple porn without plot idea into this gigantic mess of feelings and action. And also thank you to funblade, who I hold entirely responsible for this monstrosity of a fic. 
> 
> I'd consider this set within the same universe as [Here and Now](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9788507), which I casually call the wandering huntresses AU. You don't need to have read that one to understand this one, other than knowing that it's set following the end of canon and Weiss walked away from the ruins of the SDC. She and Ruby now travel Remnant as huntresses.

Dawn was still some way off when they arrived at the foot of the mountain. 

Ruby herself was fine with the unusually early start Weiss had inflicted on them today--she'd never really needed a whole lot of sleep to function like a normal human being--but Weiss had always been another story. The dark circles beneath her eyes and the groggy tilt to her head practically screamed _I regret my life and my choices_ , and Ruby was pretty sure it was spite alone that kept her moving. 

She kept her mouth clamped shut, no matter how many smart remarks that came to mind. She valued her head right where it was, thanks. 

Without a word passing between them, Ruby nodded toward the mountaintop, leaving the ball entirely in her partner's court. If she really wanted to climb a mountain before dawn, then... 

At her side, Weiss exhaled, resettling her bags with an irritable roll of her shoulders, but took the lead she'd been offered and began to thread her way between the first of the boulders. 

Stifling a smile, Ruby followed her, making sure to trail a good few steps behind. The pace Weiss set was both dogged and punishing--exactly why that was, Ruby could only guess at, but it probably had something to do with both loathing mornings and their argument yesterday afternoon--but at the current gentle incline, Ruby still had enough time to, well, pause and appreciate the view. 

Ruby had really liked Weiss' skirts back at Beacon, and the ones she wore during all the conflict afterwards. They'd always been so pretty, but there had definitely been an element of deeper appreciation that Ruby hadn't really figured out at the time. In both of their defences, they'd been somewhat wrapped up in the usual teen problems... and the not-so-usual teen problems like the end of the world... 

Skirts were great, but there was definitely something Ruby _loved_ about Weiss' current choice of jeans, too. It probably had a little to do with the fact that the view of Weiss' ass in them couldn't be beat, given how tightly they hugged her hips, but who was gonna twist Ruby's arm to get her to admit it? 

_I could probably get ambushed by a nevermore right now and never have sensed it coming,_ Ruby thought to herself, her smile crooked and appreciative as she watched Weiss reach up, grasping at some exposed tree roots to pull herself up the side of a particularly big boulder. _And I wouldn't even regret it._

That red scarf of Weiss' was draped over one shoulder, trailing down her back in a slash of red, her grey peacoat fitted snug about her shoulders as she scrambled up. That had been another private, tiny victory--while it had taken the better part of a year, Ruby had managed to convince her less travel-seasoned partner that wearing white was more trouble than it was worth out on the road. 

Even if further suggestions for clothing darker than a light grey had been met with distaste and eyerolling. 

Ruby's smile faded a little as her eyes travelled to the Schnee family sigil stitched into the shoulder of Weiss' coat, all intricate, eye-catching detail even in the pale pre-dawn light. Hard to forget its burden on Weiss' shoulders, even as long ago as Beacon, and while the Schnee Dust Company no longer held sway over the resources of the world, its symbol still meant something indescribable to Weiss. 

Ruby's gut twisted, for all that she knew expressing a word of sympathy would stir up things better left sleeping. She did know what it was like to carry impossible weight, just of a very different variety. Support was more than just saying the right words at the right moment--it was helping them both be in the here and now, too. 

It was something Ruby tried so hard to adapt to, though given the fire of their argument the day prior... She still had a lot to learn, even if she didn't regret the choices that had landed her in so much hot water. 

"Ruby."

Startling slightly at the sound of her name--and maybe a little afraid she was going to get snapped at for her daydreaming--Ruby looked up. Weiss was smiling, tiny but there all the same, and the knot of worry that had been forming in Ruby's stomach loosened into warmth. 

Weiss was waiting, kneeling on the crumbling ledge above her, one gloved hand extended down to help with the climb. Ruby accepted it without hesitation, heat climbing in her cheeks, and when she swung herself up and over the top of the ledge, maybe she did let herself stumble forward a little further than strictly necessary, her body flush with Weiss'. 

Ruby breathed in deep, the chilled morning air mingling with the warmth from Weiss' body, the traces of soap, the unmistakable scent of Dust lingering on her clothing. All of it felt so typical and _comfortable_ that Ruby closed her eyes, determined to savour the moment while it lasted. 

"Offer still stands, you know," Ruby told her in a low voice, and while she did kind of expect it, she was still disappointed when Weiss withdrew and began to dust her coat sleeves off. "I could be up the top of this mountain quicker than you could say 'Ruby no'." 

Weiss' gaze cut toward her just for a moment then, and while her expression was mostly unreadable, there was a quirk to the corner of her mouth that honestly made Ruby's heart do a quadruple backflip that surely shaved years off her life each time. _God,_ even half-asleep and suffering for it, Weiss was honestly the most beautiful thing Ruby had ever seen. 

Why, exactly, hadn't she realised how she felt sooner? It was so completely obvious. Then again, if she'd figured it out earlier, the Beacon years would have been... actually kinda awkward, given the Jaune thing. And the Neptune thing. And the whole sharing a dorm thing.

Ruby sighed, just softly. Maybe it had been for the best that she'd been completely blind to her feelings for the longest possible time. It just meant that she had to enjoy their time together even more now--even if Weiss was still a little angry with her.

"Your offer is noted, but you hardly know what you're looking for." Weiss exhaled, looked back toward the narrowing path ahead of them. She pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, blinking to clear the weariness from her eyes, not looking Ruby's way as she added, "And by the way, you aren't getting back into my good graces with such a poor ploy."

Ruby laughed at the sourness of the remark, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. Okay, maybe there _had_ been an ulterior motive to the offer that she'd been hoping Weiss would be gracious enough to ignore, but she didn't like the distance she sensed between them now. 

"Is there something I _can_ do?" Ruby pressed, following after Weiss as they threaded their way up a path that would have made even a mountain goat think twice on. 

"Aren't you meant to be a strategist?" Weiss countered, pressing her back against the exposed rock face and sidling along it. Rocks broke free beneath her feet, dust and fragments of stone showering down the side of the mountain. "Perhaps try to be quiet, so I can hear my own thoughts for a change. A big ask for you, I understand."

"Okay, gotcha. Zip it. Understood." Ruby fumbled a salute, and god could she have been any more awkward? A salute? Really? As loath as she was to give up so soon, she couldn't leave their conversation on a note like that, so she only managed to hold her silence for the space of thirty seconds before she felt absolutely compelled to add, "I mean, are you sure? I thought you said I was like white noise at this point and all the talk helps you think."

Ahead of her, she heard Weiss heave a long-suffering sigh, her shoulders slumping for a fraction of a moment.

"I don't think you tried at all, Ruby Rose."

They continued up the mountain, and as the climb grew more dangerous with fewer footholds to aid them, Weiss drew Myrtenaster from the holster at her hip. With a practiced sweep of her hand and blade, white glyphs bloomed in the air before her, spiralling all the way up the mountain's remaining height. 

"Go," Weiss told her without a sideways glance. Nodding, Ruby reached for her own semblance, a hum of red at the back of her mind, determined to make this go as easily and fast as possible. While Weiss' semblance stamina had drastically increased from their Beacon days, their current short-supply of Dust, the vicious hunt yesterday and needing to account for Ruby's additional weight would be pushing her hard for a single use. 

Ruby made it to the top by a wide margin, watching her partner dash from glyph to glyph. As Weiss drew level with the uppermost ledge, Ruby reached out to catch Weiss on instinct, her arms steadying about her hips as she stumbled her landing just slightly. 

Weiss' breath was short, her body rigid. "I'm fine."

It was protest for the sake of stubborn Schnee pride more than anything Ruby had done, and Ruby smiled into Weiss' scarf for just a moment before allowing Weiss to swat her away. Content to allow Weiss a few moments to gather herself, Ruby turned her attention to the seemingly infinite sea of trees and ruins, stretching out as far as she could see and into the distant horizon. 

_What an incredible view,_ Ruby thought, quiet for a change. The red light of dawn was just beginning to colour the sky, and Ruby breathed in deep of cool morning air. 

As nice as the view was, however, Weiss wasn't one to haul the both of them out of bed so early just for this alone. Tired of waiting for an explanation, Ruby looked back to Weiss.

"So what exactly _are_ we looking for up here?" Ruby asked, and her voice was maybe a little dry as she added, "Or is that one of those SDC secrets?" 

Given Weiss' slowly increasing surliness since their argument yesterday, there was definitely something that smelled of the wreckage of her family's company. It couldn't _all_ be Ruby's fault. Right?

"Don't give me that attitude." Weiss crossed her arms, _still_ not looking in Ruby's direction. "Since you forwent our pay _again_ \--honestly, can you stop being such a bleeding heart for every conman with a sob story?--and my Dust supplies are practically non-existent at this point, we're going to spend today looking for some of the locations the SDC had considered remotely viable. There was meant to be one in this area."

Ruby's eyebrows rose. Okay, she could buy that. "And you just so happen to remember every survey report from Sanus? Why, exactly?"

"Just the ones from around Beacon, and I'd hardly say I remember them well." Weiss' smile was humourless. "I have, after all, resorted to trying to spot the location from a _mountain._ "

Encouraged by the fact that, Weiss was actually conversing with her instead of stewing in silence, Ruby slung an arm about Weiss' shoulders. _"Or_ maybe you wanted to see the sunrise with your loving and attentive girlfriend. Right?"

Weiss gave her a tired look. "Keep trying." 

"Is that permission?" Ruby flashed her a smile, hopeful. 

"More a progress report." 

Ruby slumped, allowing Weiss to extricate herself and move closer to the edge. They were both silent for a long while, scanning the horizon as the dawn finally broke, casting the whole of the world in reds and oranges to match the turning of the forest leaves for fall. Ruby had always loved this season, even now, despite all that had happened with the Maidens and Salem and Ozpin. 

She tried to focus on the better things, not the pain and desperation and loss of those years, but there were times that could be more difficult than others. 

Whatever Weiss was looking for out there, though, Ruby couldn't see it. It all just looked like trees, and while the view from the top of the mountain was amazing, it wasn't going to solve their critical Dust shortage. Instead, needing the distraction from the lingering shadow in her own thoughts, Ruby's gaze cut toward Weiss.

 _Focus on the better things,_ she told herself again. 

"There," Weiss finally said, shielding her eyes with a hand against the gold of the sunrise, pointing toward one of the ridges in the distance. "We should start searching there."

The outcropping of rock was surrounded by trees and old ruins, but otherwise seemed unremarkable. Ruby squinted at it, before shrugging. "You're the expert, but it doesn't look all that different from the rest."

Weiss made a small sound in her throat, the source of it maybe frustration and maybe fluster, drawing Myrtenaster once more. 

"Our ancestors were drawn to deposits of Dust, considering the threat posed by the Grimm." Weiss' voice was even, almost instructive as she pointed Myrtenaster toward the outcropping. "That ridge is the only one surrounded by old ruins."

Ruby's eyebrows rose, and looking back out over the sea of trees again, she realised that Weiss' observation had actually made a lot of sense. 

"So they built a settlement around keeping access to it?" Ruby guessed, and as Weiss' lips curved in the hint of a smile, her heart did that awful flipflop again.

"Exactly."

"That's so _cool."_ Ruby looked back toward the outcropping, but there was one thing that she didn't quite follow. Sure, the ridge was surrounded by old ruins, but that was exactly it. They were _ruins._ What if the settlement had died when their supply had just... run dry? As hesitant as she was to spoil Weiss' momentary good mood, she knew she had to ask. "You think there's any left?"

"There's only one way to find out."

###

They made it to the base of the ridge not long before before noon.

Weiss had been right in her deduction--as always, Ruby had told her with a smile just to see the hint of red in her cheeks--and an ancient human settlement lay in spectacular ruins. Well, Ruby amended as she slowly wandered the overgrown remains of streets, gazing about at the broken stone structures. It wasn't so much of a settlement as it was an old fortification, built to stand against the onslaught of Grimm.

A purpose it had failed in the end, she remembered, her smile fading. People had lived there, fought there, and ultimately died there, and it seemed that while the trees and plants had begun the slow process of reclaiming the land, the wildlife was nowhere to be found. 

Even the wind didn't stir, the whole of the world around them seeming as still and silent as a crypt. No matter how softly Ruby walked, her footfalls on the grass were too loud, almost disrespectful, and she paused, tilting her head back to stare up at the crumbling, swaying remains of the watch tower built into the ridge above them. 

Ruby wasn't sure how humanity had managed to build such huge stone monuments with the Grimm howling for blood at the gates. Places like this one lacked Vale's natural barriers, and surely it would have taken _time_ to lug the necessary stone around, let alone build powerful walls.

History from those times hadn't survived, lost each and every time Salem had made her play at the world. She'd stunted civilisation at crucial times, wiping out knowledge with calculated moves, fostering fear and ignorance until even legends were lost. 

At least it wasn't going to happen any more, Ruby told herself, her heart clenching. When she finally lowered her gaze from the watchtower, however, Weiss was watching her. Or, at least Ruby _thought_ she was, but before she could be sure, Weiss had looked away, back to studying the ruins around them.

Ruby growled beneath her breath, watching her partner slowly pick her way between a fallen slab from the crumbling battlements. Stubborn, like always. A part of her wanted to leave well enough alone, to give Weiss the space she needed to fully process their argument, but... 

This place gave Ruby the creeps, and she badly needed a distraction. 

Closing the distance between them in a flash of petals, Ruby swept in front of Weiss, her hands clasped behind her back as she walked backwards, tilting her head and ducking lower to force her reticent partner to look her in the eyes. Weiss merely arched an eyebrow, intent on giving Ruby absolutely nothing to work with. 

Not to be dissuaded, Ruby hummed beneath her breath, keeping pace with Weiss whilst strolling backward. She waved a hand toward the ruins that surrounded them. Weiss had always had an interest in old stuff like this, and while that was something she mostly shared and discussed with Blake... Ruby had always enjoyed listening to Weiss explain and reason. Even if she didn't really get it, the cadence of Weiss' voice and her love of a subject matter had gotten her through some tough times. 

"So, thoughts?"

Weiss' expression was closed and wary, casting a critical eye around the ruins--all business. "If this place is anything like the reports, the main cavern's entrance will be barricaded inside another building."

Refusing to be bested, Ruby flashed Weiss an easy smile. "Nothing we can't handle, right?"

"Right." Weiss' lips quirked again, a reluctant answer to Ruby's own as she relented. "This place was a really strong candidate for an open-cut mine, if I recall the memo correctly. So strong, in fact, that I'm not really sure why the company pulled back on their plans."

Ruby glanced around at the crumbling fortress and township, thoughtful. "Think it might have had something to do with all the ruins?"

"As if a little history ever got in the way of progress." Weiss snorted, her smile flattening to a harsh, thin line as she continued, "When it comes down to numbers and profit, this place isn't worth much more than a pile of rocks when compared to Dust."

This conversation wasn't going exactly as Ruby had envisioned it. She'd suspected up on the mountain that Weiss' thoughts on the SDC were at least part of why she was so terse, arguments aside, and from the bitterness in her tone, she'd been completely right. She might have been a bit more smug about reading her partner so well, if only that same bitterness hadn't been ruining her every attempt at getting Weiss to lighten up. She had to do something--so maybe it was time to pull out the big guns. 

"Lucky for us they didn't wreck the place, then," Ruby said, pitching her voice light and playful. Just enough to throw Weiss off guard at the sudden change, just enough to get under her skin, make her _think._

"How so?" Weiss asked, slow and suspicious. That was the best part about getting Weiss off-guard--Ruby was able to read her like an open book. 

"I mean, if a big mine was dug in here, we'd never have gotten to see all these awesome old ruins!" Ruby's smile widened, and slowly, she looked Weiss up and down, letting her gaze linger long enough to make her point. She really did love way those jeans hugged Weiss' hips, the snugness of the fit of her coat about her waist and shoulders, the suggestion of the marks Ruby had left on her throat just days ago. 

They were fading, she noted, her stomach twisting with a sudden burst of pure want. She really had to do something about that, so maybe her voice was just a little suggestive as she added, "And we'd definitely never have had the whole place all to ourselves."

Weiss' cheeks went pink at the implication, her blue eyes widening just a fraction before she looked away in a hurry. It was honestly that was the best reaction Ruby had provoked from her in over a _day,_ so things were improving. The going was just really, really slow. 

"You're impossible," Weiss told her, more of an accusation than an observation, and Ruby tilted her head with a smile, unable to quell the incredible surge of affection rising up in her chest. 

"And you're so cute when you're cranky."

Weiss made a sound in her throat, maybe a laugh or maybe a sigh. "Where do you get all these awful comments from?" 

"Some are hand-me-downs from Yang. Some are even from Blake."

That earned her a scowl. "I doubt Blake would approve of the corny foolishness you spout daily."

"Three words. _Ninjas of Love._ " Ruby couldn't help but laugh at the dramatic eyeroll just the title of the book series earned her, and before Weiss could stalk off, she reached out, grasping Weiss' wrist between the both of her hands. Her hold was loose, easily broken if Weiss really wanted that. But she didn't. 

That meant _everything._ Ruby brushed her bare thumb across the back of Weiss' hand, savouring the sensation of scarred, warmed leather beneath her fingertips. 

"Those books are complete garbage," Weiss was grumbling, her voice low, but her scowl slowly faded as she looked down at where Ruby still clasped her hand. Her voice was a little uncertain as she tried to continue, "I don't..."

Convinced she'd finally won Weiss over, Ruby slowly drew her closer with a gentle tug. She leaned in, brushing a stray lock of hair back behind Weiss' ear, drawing her gaze with a brush of her thumb against her cheek. "C'mon, Weiss. They're not even that bad. _You_ seem to like some of the ideas in them."

Weiss flushed scarlet at the wry observation, and for a long moment, she looked completely conflicted--to bristle, to somehow not strangle Ruby immediately, or perhaps _why not both?--_ but then her gaze flickered down to Ruby's lips. 

A thrill ran down the length of Ruby's spine at the idea, and her heart hammering in her chest, she watched Weiss shift. She didn't drop her gaze from from Weiss', the intensity in those blue eyes never failing to steal her breath away, leaning into the gloved fingers Weiss set to the line of Ruby's jaw as she drew closer. 

_Oh gods, finally,_ Ruby's mind breathed, her heart skipping a beat or ten as her stomach twisted in on itself with want. Every nerve in her body felt like it had ignited with anticipation. Weiss had always been incredible with her mouth, and Ruby wet her lips, tilting her chin just so. 

With just the space of a hair between them, Weiss murmured, "In your dreams, Ruby Rose."

Before she could gather the strength of will to stifle it, Ruby whined, deep in her throat. _That_ had been low, even for Weiss--getting her hopes up, her interest piqued, even setting her up to fall for her own machinations! Weiss actually had the gall to smirk across at her as she stepped away, and even if her cheeks were pink, the smooth way she'd countered and left Ruby out to dry was...

Actually kind of hot. Ruby smiled, crooked and dreamy as she studied the self-satisfied tilt to Weiss' mouth, revisiting the wonderful curve and softness of them in so many memories. Honestly, she was halfway to convincing herself to just lunge for Weiss, sweep her to the ground in a rush of petals, lay claim to those lips again and again, lose herself in the taste and texture and hot warmth of Weiss' mouth. 

Until that smug smile had been entirely wiped from those teasing lips and Weiss' cheeks flushed red, her eyes hazy, her body pliant and relaxed in the way Ruby had come to crave _so badly_ \-- 

"There." Ahead of her, Weiss paused, nodding toward the remains of a large building set back into the ridge looming above them. Like the rest of the fortifications, time had taken its toll, its foundations cracked and its roof partially caved in, the architecture ruined. The massive, stone archway that served as its door had been poorly barricaded with rotting wood, the whole of it overgrown ivy. "I'd gamble lien that this would be the place, but unfortunately, we have none."

The barbed remark was like ice-water to her libido, and Ruby scowled at Weiss' back. 

"Again with the money thing?"

Weiss didn't even bother to look over her shoulder, approaching the remains of the door and kneeling to examine it with a critical eye. 

"Yes," she said, testing the strength of the barricade with a small, careful push. "Again with the money thing. Help me clear this out without bringing the whole building down on our heads."

Ruby didn't move, crossing her arms as she watched Weiss test another of the logs in the makeshift barricade. "Just how angry about that are you, anyway?"

"It's fine."

Ruby wanted to tear her hair out, and she couldn't keep the anger from her voice this time as she snapped, "It's really obvious it's _not_."

Weiss finally looked back to her, her expression closed and unreadable. "Can we discuss this later? When we aren't _here,_ perhaps?"

"Fine." 

Grumbling beneath her breath and taking only a few moments to stow their bags off to the side, Ruby moved to help Weiss. Between the two of them and some carefully placed glyphs, they were able to clear enough space for them to duck inside the building. No matter how irritable Ruby ever found herself with Weiss, she took the lead, always the first into the darkness and any potential danger, Crescent Rose unfurling in her left hand. 

Blinking rapidly to clear her vision, Ruby scanned the interior of the building, noting the littering of debris, the rubble scuffing beneath her boots as she moved. Her every sense strained to resolve the gloom around her, to make it into something a little less... worrying. 

Behind her, she heard Weiss swear covertly beneath her breath as her sleeve caught on some splinters, and despite herself, Ruby allowed herself a smile. 

"Language, Weiss," she said, mimicry of her partner's more pretentious moments coming to her easily. 

Weiss huffed as she climbed to her feet, her presence a warm blur of aura at Ruby's shoulder as she muttered, "Very funny." 

At the barricade, Weiss' glyphs faded, and broken stone, wood and rubble fell, sealing them both inside. 

"Guess we aren't getting back out so easily," Ruby said, her voice low and careful, listening to Weiss dig around in her coat pockets for a moment, and the soft click of a switch. One of two flashlights lit up in the palm of Weiss' hand, and wordlessly, she passed the other across to Ruby to clip onto the leather strap at her shoulder. 

"Better," Weiss observed, her voice dry as she fastened her own to her coat's lapel. The artificial light set her face into angles, lit up her scar in sharp relief. 

Nodding, Ruby turned her attention back to the interior of the old Dust mine, examining the shattered furniture, the scatter of old office affects, desks overturned and storage cabinets gaping wide open. The light at her back shifted as Weiss moved to take a closer look, but her own gaze was drawn to the rear of the building--where the entire wall seemed to have been reduced to a _gaping hole._

She approached it with slow, measured strides, Crescent Rose a comforting weight in her hands. Judging by the ragged edges of the hole, she was pretty certain the hole hadn't been there when the building at been constructed. 

"Ruby." Weiss' voice was soft. Ruby turned, and where Weiss stood by the remains of a desk, she could see letters scratched into the surface, faded with age and rot. _"Nidhog."_

"Sounds like a Grimm," Ruby said, thoughtful. The bigger ones always seemed to earn themselves a name. Shaking her head, she looked back to the hole in the wall, into the blackness of the Dust mine. "This place fell a long time ago, though. Maybe it's moved on?"

"Perhaps." 

It was wishful thinking, and they both knew it. Without a word, Ruby headed for the mine entrance, automatically assuming point, trusting Weiss to guard her back. They threaded their way through a set of boulders, and when their flashlights lit up the twisted remains of an old rail track, they followed it. 

The cavern was big, bigger than Ruby would have guessed just from looking at the ridge outside, and it felt like her flashlight's beam could never reach far enough to really bring her comfort. A steep drop ran alongside the rail they followed, sometimes the path growing so thin they had to move carefully. 

Sweat prickled at the small of Ruby's back, her aura thrilling in her veins. No matter how she listened, however, she couldn't detect any movement in the blackness around them.

Even so, she couldn't quite shake the certainty that they were being watched. 

As she quietly climbed over some of the mine support beams had collapsed, she paused, the flashlight at her shoulder lighting up the dusty remains of an old helmet. It had been cast off to the side of the old track as if knocked loose in a fight, and it lay empty, its owner many years gone. 

"Weiss?" Ruby said, raising her voice, and behind her, she heard Weiss approach. "Looks like what's left of the old miners." 

Ruby knelt, examining the old helmet with a careful eye, brushing her fingertips over the filth and rust. This had been expected, but nonetheless she couldn't help but feel her stomach twist in sadness. "I don't think they were ready for whatever it was that destroyed this place."

Weiss rested her hand on Ruby's shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze. Instinctive, Ruby leaned into the touch, bumping her head against Weiss' forearm for just a moment. Just for a little comfort. 

"The memo didn't specify the fate of this settlement, though I suppose we can guess." Weiss' voice was soft, nearly reluctant. "There's no use turning back now."

"Yeah. Just gotta be ready. Whatever killed these guys might still be here." Ruby looked back up at Weiss then, studying her profile all lit up from the flashlight at her shoulder. She didn't like this feeling, reminding her far too vividly of the dangerous years before Salem's defeat. There was danger, she and Weiss faced it on a daily basis, but... "How much further before we call it quits?"

Weiss met her eyes, and the smile she offered Ruby was forced. "Just a bit. I don't like this place either."

Nodding slowly, Ruby climbed to her feet. No matter how much she trusted Weiss, no matter how much she trusted in her own skill, she had a _very_ bad feeling about this place.

###

It was another few minutes of walking before finally-- _at last,_ to Ruby's immense relief--she spied the distinctive glow of Dust crystals, crimson in the darkness. Rounding the bend in the old track they'd been following, the cavern opened outwards once more, a massive central chamber lit up in the back like embers from a fire, the vein of Dust glowing deep within the stone and shimmering with magic given form.

While it did little to resolve the pitch black all around them, it was exactly what they'd been looking for. And honestly? Ruby had seen her fair share of Dust crystals and mines over the years, but she'd never quite seen them like... _this_. 

"Woah," she breathed, her worry pushed aside as she lowered Crescent Rose, flashing forward in a burst of semblance. She leaned in close, examining the vein of Dust but not daring to touch, the magical heat given off by the crystals enough to stay her more impulsive decisions. Looking over her shoulder, she called, "Weiss, check it out!"

Weiss approached more warily, Myrtenaster in hand, and her expression was troubled as she finally joined Ruby. Her features drenched in molten red light, she reached out slowly, hesitantly, her gloved fingers grazing the glowing surface before she pulled them back to examine the light coating of loosened Dust. 

She didn't look happy as she said, "This doesn't make sense." 

Ruby's eyebrows rose, and she turned to Weiss, tilting her head in a question she didn't need to bother verbalising. Weiss didn't reply immediately, raising Myrtenaster to tap against the topmost crystals from the vein. The etchings along the length lit up like a brand, brighter than Ruby had seen them glow in a long time. 

"This is incredibly high quality." Weiss' mouth was a thin, tight line as she lowered Myrtenaster back to her side. "At least as good as the ore from the main cut near Mantle." 

"And that's bad?"

"It's suspicious," Weiss corrected, and again Ruby felt that sense of creeping dread--the sensation of being watched prickling along the surface of her aura. "I think you might be right, about whatever killed those miners still being here. There aren't a lot of reasons my father would have left a fortune like this untapped. Not unless the losses would have outweighed the gains."

Ruby's stomach twisted, that name etched into the desk swimming to the surface of her mind. _Nidhog._

"Better get your Dust fast, then," Ruby told her, adjusting the fold of Crescent Rose with a practiced sweep, her entire body thrumming with aura. "We may be lucky. Maybe it doesn't know we're here yet."

Behind her, she heard Weiss snort under her breath, buckles clinking as she draw the harvest tools and containers from the leather pouch at her side. _"Luck_ isn't something we've ever had in great supply."

True or not, Ruby didn't answer her, scanning the darkness around them as Weiss worked, the Dust fissure lit up like a bonfire behind her. Beyond the circle of light, the blackness was oppressive, like it could have weighed a thousand tonnes and concealed a thousand horrors within. 

For all her grumbling, Weiss moved quickly to extract the best elements of Dust from the fissure. For Ruby, however, every second seemed to stretch like an eternity. Sweat beaded at the back of her neck, her every sense straining, and a part of her wasn't sure if she was hearing the rasp of her own breath in her ears or--

Her aura blared red warning, and Ruby pivoted just in time, catching the enormous fangs of the taijitu on Crescent Rose's haft. Before the taijitu's other head could strike, she whirled the scythe in her hands, the recoil from the follow-up shot blasting the serpent backwards into the darkness once more. 

"Weiss?" she called, her voice cracking with worry, and beyond the ring of crimson light, the darkness seemed to writhe and shift. Wetting her lips, she tried again. "I think our time's up!" 

"Taijitu?" Weiss asked, ghosting to her side in a blur of glyph-borne momentum. There was a catch of low derision in her voice as she added, "Of course it would be _taijitu."_

"Drawn to the incendiary Dust's heat?" Ruby guessed, sparing her partner a look over her shoulder, automatic, just to reassure that the taijitu hadn't so much as touched a hair on Weiss' head. 

"Perhaps I should have guessed." Weiss' gaze flickered across to Ruby for a long, telling moment. "I hate taijitu."

Ruby flashed her a smile, trying to aim for reassuring but instead landing somewhere between 'lopsided' and 'strained', but the moment was short-lived as another taijitu lunged from the darkness for them. She moved immediately, her body between Weiss' and any threats that would come, Crescent Rose blurring as she severed the head from the taijitu. Her aura sent another warning lancing through her spine, and she whirled the blade backwards to crack the skull of its white twin head. 

_"Ruby,"_ Weiss snapped, her palm lashing out and a glyph blooming in the air before her, the glow stark white against the bloody light and pitch black. She reversed her hand, clenching it into a fist as she drew deeper on her semblance to repel the lash of another taijitu, off to the side. "I can look after myself. Don't do something I'll make you regret."

"Fine. I won't regret it!" Ruby sent a blast of incendiary munitions to light up the dark cavern beyond. The fireball travelled quickly, and her stomach sank. The cavern seemed to stretched out forever, every wall lined with taijitu eggs the ground practically a sea of writhing black and white bodies. 

Coldness gripped her. Just how many of them were out there?

At her back, Weiss swore, but she wasn't looking out into the horrors Ruby had exposed. No, Ruby noted with her stomach clenching, she was looking beyond the seam of Dust they'd been working on, her eyes wide and fixed on an ancient king taijiutu slithering from the darkness.

She'd never seen one so big, dwarfing even a goliath, the length of its body heavily armoured with both bone and crystal. The carapace was studded with broken arrows and rusted swords, and there were more recent chunks blasted free from firearms too. Probably the efforts from the SDC scouts. 

_Nidhog._

Yawning terror seized Ruby's stomach as Weiss faced that monster alone, but before she could intervene, Weiss engaged without hesitation, her glyphs allowing her to move faster than even Ruby could follow without the aid of her semblance. An array of them lit up in the darkness, vivid white against black, as she landed ice and fire from every possible angle, constant momentum and changes of angles to keep the beast confused. 

The ancient taijitu's heads jerked and swayed, both of them lashing out with fangs as large as Weiss was tall, but before Ruby could assist, her aura spiked a warning in the back of her skull. Her teeth bared, Ruby spun, Crescent Rose whipping up to deflect one lunge but she still needed to yield ground. She dodged the next two sets of snapping jaws, landing on one writhing body, the scales like sandpaper beneath her fingers. Using momentum from her dash and the recoil from Crescent Rose, Ruby backflipped, sending the curved blade of her scythe cleaving up through the jaw of one, before reversing the flip to send it in a whirling fang-strike through the nose of another. 

Her heart was thundering in her ears, but more were coming, faster this time and completely relentless. She parried the next set of teeth and ducked another, but the unseen third was the one that struck from her blind spot--too used to having Weiss guard it, Ruby reprimanded herself, clutching as the raised scales grazed her shoulder. 

Her aura sparked from the blow, breaking from the force of the strike but rallying almost immediately, crackling electric in her veins as she moved. Crescent Rose was a blur despite the raw agony from her shoulder, the movement smooth and sure as she moved the blade in a deadly figure-8 of steel and firepower, sending the next taijitu careening back into an unseen wall. 

Ruby hissed beneath her breath, and as she touched her shoulder, her hand came away bloody, her shirt sleeve in ruins. Behind her, Nidhog roared loud enough to send the cavern floor to trembling, but that wasn't the sound that sent Ruby's blood to ice. 

Weiss cried out, and Ruby's eyes went wide, her mind blanking as she looked over her shoulder. 

_Weiss?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imagine that, [Weiss hates taijitu](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1168524/chapters/2377004). Huh. 
> 
> Come visit me on tumblr if you want to have a chat - [zerrat](zerrat.tumblr.com) (personal and meme-loving shitposts) and [verdantei](verdantei.tumblr.com) (RWBY-centric). I can be a chatty bastard at times.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for posting just a day or so later than expected! I underestimated how much revision the smut actually required. Let's just say it was taking the wrong tone entirely and honestly we can't have that. ;D

_Weiss?_

There was no time left to react as Weiss smashed into Ruby, thrown at an impossible speed from Nidhog's head, and Ruby's free arm tightened convulsively about Weiss' waist as the sheer force of the impact sent them both flying. They bounced once, hard enough to send Ruby's aura sparking red in her eyes, skidding through the rocks and debris littering the cavern floor. 

Aura or no, it was a _miracle_ neither of them ended up beheaded by Crescent Rose. 

Inhaling, her breath ragged and shallow and tasting blood at the back of her throat, Ruby was the first to shake the stars from her eyes and scramble to her feet, hand clutching feverish on Weiss' shoulder as she swept Crescent Rose out in a blind, messy strike to discourage the taijitu slithering in the dark. 

Relief drenched her when she heard Weiss groan, but the feeling was short-lived, her stomach plummeting when she caught sight of Weiss' profile in the weak, flickering flashlight. Blood drenched the side of her partner's face, sticky with dust and debris, the red of it matting her bangs.

 _Nidhog._ Swallowing hard, Ruby looked back over her shoulder to where Nidhog coiled before the Dust vein. Crimson light gleamed, a shard of ice as large as her forearm buried deep in the ancient taijitu's eye. Black ichor dripped down its heavy, white jaws as it roared, coiling and curling in on itself as it attempted to dislodge the ice. 

"You know what they say," Weiss managed, climbing to her feet unsteadily. One hand strayed, pressing gingerly at her ribs, just a moment of weakness before she raised Myrtenaster, ready. "Eye for an eye."

Despite the hisses growing to fever-pitch in the darkness around them, Ruby's gaze flickered across to Weiss, alarmed by the remark. The moment of absolutely justified concern earned her a scowl. 

"Figure of speech."

"Just--just had to be sure." 

To her left, shadowed in the weak flashlight at her shoulder, Ruby caught a flash of ebony scales, the darkness beyond their hazy ring of light all threat, all danger. She looked back to Nidhog, torn. 

_This is bad._

"That thing is even tougher than it looks," Weiss told her, tracking her gaze as she fell into her place at Ruby's back. Light condensed at her left, a glyph forming to block a taijitu's strike, one head and then the other before she twisted her fist, repelling the serpent into the darkness. Only then did she inhale, the sound of it pained. "Please tell me you have a plan."

"Not dying is about as far as I've gotten on that one," Ruby told her, her voice pitched falsely light as she glanced over again to Weiss, her heart in her throat. All around them, she could sense the taijitu swarm. At their backs, Nidhog waited, and with the way behind them sealed, there was nowhere left to run. _The plan is not dying. Not losing you. Not losing you **ever.**_

Ruby kept her mouth shut--giving voice to those fears wasn't something she could bring herself to do, to admit to aloud. There was a darkness to this place, reminding her too strongly of fights she'd very nearly lost. It was too easy to remember the toll those battles had demanded, the shadow of a memory dragging her back somewhere she'd thought herself clear of. 

Myrtenaster still ready, still able to fight, Weiss was instead staring at Ruby, her expression worried as she read Ruby's every fear. 

Weiss' voice was certain and strong when she looked back to Nidhog. "Come on." 

While Ruby had always lived her life with a stubborn, blind optimism, Weiss had been more realistic. That she was picking up the slack, right when Ruby felt herself begin to falter, was a testament to their partnership, the synergy they'd somehow stumbled on. 

Ruby swallowed, and her smile was hesitant when she nodded to Weiss. "Together?"

"Always."

Glyphs painted the cavern in pale light as they advanced in perfect sync, strikes and parries perfectly matched, a whirl of red steel when Weiss retreated, a burst of Dust to freeze and burn and electrify. Springboard glyphs aided Ruby's most insane acrobatics without so much as a word exchanged between them, moving to cover Weiss' heavier spell-charges with whirlwind strikes and shots as they cleared a swathe through the darkness. 

Behind them, Nidhog roared, the force of it so loud Ruby's eardrums felt close to bursting. It sounded too close, too dangerous--ice gripped her chest and she turned half a pace, catching red light glinting on the Dust-encrusted, exposed carapace right as it struck. It moved fast, faster than Ruby could track without the aid of her semblance. 

Blindly, she reacted. Without care for injury or grace, she seized a hold of Weiss' arm, sending both them high into the air with an uncontrolled burst of semblance and recoil as Nidhog's dual jaws smashed hard into the place they'd been just a breath ago. 

They landed badly somewhere off to the side, buying them a second chance and precious room to breathe--not much, but Ruby prayed it was enough as she rolled to her feet. Her ears were ringing, her head swimming, and she shook it in a vain attempt to clear her senses. Whatever they did, it wasn't working. 

They'd made headway with the smaller taijitu, sure, but that big one was tougher and faster than anything they were currently prepared for. Given enough time to plan, perhaps, but...

Worse, they couldn't just retreat with that monster ready to pursue, not without a clear path of escape. Ruby's final trump card, tapping into a dangerous power she still couldn't fully control--it wasn't even on the table. Not with Weiss there. That fire burned anything and everything that wasn't Ruby, and there was no possible universe where she would make the choice between life and... _Weiss._

Ruby swallowed, her breath coming too hard, her heart pounding in her ears. 

She didn't know what to do.

"Ruby--" Weiss coughed, and when Ruby helped her to her feet, she stumbled. Her lip had been split, her mouth bruised. When had that happened...?

Panic rising in her stomach again, Ruby reached out, steadying Weiss before she could fall, but there was no hiding the way her fingers dug into the fabric of Weiss' jacket. There was no hiding from the truth. 

"I'm sorry, I really am." The words bubbled out before Ruby could think to stem them, fast, desperate, _afraid_. "For not running the money thing by you. This whole thing is my fault."

Weiss cursed beneath her breath, Myrtenaster's motion in her hand sharp and jagged as she sent a trio of projectiles lancing through a taijitu that got too close. "Ruby, this is not the time--"

"I'm serious! We could die here, Weiss!" Ruby's teeth clenched, and she struck another pair of snapping taijitu jaws from Weiss' blind spot with a whirlwind of red steel. Her throat felt raw and constricted, and of course she understood that it _wasn't the time._ That changed nothing of how she felt! "I'm not going to let us die mad at one another when I love you so much--"

The crash of Weiss' mouth against her own forced her to silence, the twist of Weiss' free hand in her hood enough to steal her every thought. It wasn't a kiss to reassure, lacking the skill she'd come to expect from Weiss but replacing it all with pure fire. It was savage--teeth and tongue and the iron taste of blood from the split in her lip--and so, _so_ alive. Ruby answered her with everything she had, clutching at the back of Weiss' neck, anchoring herself to the steadfast belief Weiss always seemed to hold in her. 

When Weiss pulled back, too fast and too soon, the panic in Ruby's chest had faded, morphing into a numbness that while pervasive, could still be managed. Rendered silent and completely breathless, Ruby stared at Weiss, watching her partner wipe her mouth with the back of her gloved hand. 

"Ruby. We're going to be fine." Whether or not her confidence was false, Weiss had always been able to fool Ruby into believing. Slowly and reluctantly, Ruby felt herself smile again.

"Besides," Weiss told her, and her answering smile grew sharp and vicious. "I was the one who chose to search _this_ place. So it stands to reason that I'm the one to secure our exit. Buy me as much time with the big one as you can manage."

Understanding immediately, Ruby nodded, but as she turned away, Weiss' hand shot out, her grasp bruising at Ruby's shoulder. 

_"Safely."_

Ruby stared at her, hesitating just for a moment, before she looked back to where the ancient taijitu advanced on them, all bloodlust and fury at being denied their lives thus far. All around them, everything seemed to move and shift, the darkness feeding in on itself. Turning her back on them to distract Nidhog would leave Weiss exposed and vulnerable, but...

She closed her eyes for just a moment, before looking back down to meet Weiss' eyes. 

"Yeah." Ruby's stomach clenched, and she hoped this wasn't a mistake. _Anything for you, anything at all._

"Then go." Weiss released Ruby with a shove, Myrtenaster's length flashing in the crimson light as she whirled the blade in a complex, familiar pattern before sending the tip to the cavern floor. 

All of a sudden, Ruby could smell spent Dust in the air, feel it burning on her tongue, and putting her faith in Weiss to survive and come through for her, Ruby advanced through the darkness alone. Crescent Rose swept wide, ready and responsive, and despite the blood running freely down her arm and soaking her sleeve, she felt ready. 

Nidhog was moving, ebony and ivory coils washed in red, its dual gaze fixed on where Weiss' elaborate glyph lit up the darkness like a sun. Ruby's nerves steeled. 

_Not today._ With vicious efficiency, Ruby severed the body of the next taijitu to lunge for her, her semblance turning its arterial spray of blood into a shower of petals, blowing its remains back into the shadows with a calculated shot of concussive munition. 

It only seemed to make the rest of the nest angrier, and Ruby snarled, parrying teeth as long as her arm with Crescent Rose's haft, setting her stance and sending out a burst of aura to throw it back, drawing as much attention to herself as she could manage, baiting Nidhog's attention before it could close the distance on Weiss. 

Coiling before her, Nidhog hissed as it arched back to strike, its scales screaming like iron over rock as it lashed forward, one head and then another crashing into the cavern floor where she'd been just a heartbeat prior. Instinctive, Ruby threw herself backwards in a handspring, leading the serpent away from Weiss, her heart pounding in her ears as she seized a hold of her semblance again, spiralling upward in a dangerous corkscrew. Recalibrating Crescent Rose in the space of an instant, Ruby took aim at the ancient taijitu's mangled red eye, the high-impact shot glancing just off the armoured ridge of its skull and ricocheting into the darkness. 

She embraced her semblance again, reversing her fall in a rush of petals and darting for the beast's heads, her thoughts as much a blur as her weapon as she whirled around the length of its body. 

No matter how hard she struck, however, Crescent Rose's blade barely seemed to score the bone and crystal carapace, and snarling, she shifted its morph, the curved blade retracting on itself. Ruby whirled the spear form in her hands, pushing herself harder and faster, until it felt like she was everywhere at once between one moment to the next, bearing the full weight of Nidhog's attention on her shoulders. 

Dark spots danced like petals at the edge of her vision, a warning she couldn't yet heed--

The haft of Crescent Rose slipped in Ruby's bloody palm, not enough to for her to drop the weapon but just enough to force a terrifying over-correction, her shoulder wrenching and pain sparking violently through her vision. Ruby stumbled, shaking her head to clear it, her teeth baring in a growl. 

She couldn't stop now, Weiss needed her to stay strong, to distract Nidhog. How long had it been? Her semblance had always warped her perception of time, it could have been seconds or it could have been minutes, but in the end it changed nothing. She had to hold on, for just a little bit longer. 

Above her, Nidhog reared up, ebony and ivory heads coiling back to strike, their red glowing like fire in the darkness before an impossible white mass blurred at the edge of Ruby's vision. 

The white knight's shoulder crunched into Nidhog's underbelly, the pure force of the impact sending shockwaves through the very ground. Ruby stumbled back, her eyes wide, clutching at her bleeding shoulder, only finding it in herself to stop when her back hit the cavern wall. 

The white knight grappled with Nidhog, one enormous hand braced against its snapping black jaw, the flat of its broadsword held in a trembling block against the fangs of other head. Motes of white Dust and osiria petals seemed to melt from its armour with every moment, ethereal light flooding the cavern. 

Weiss' family semblance wasn't something they called on often, given the heavy cost of Dust and stamina it demanded. Truth be told, Ruby kind of agreed when her partner claimed they got more mileage from her crazy-good use of Dust and Ruby's even crazier plans for it. Sometimes, a fight called more for time dilation and glyphs--or even just a well-placed explosion. 

But that didn't mean that the whole summoning thing wasn't the most awesome, over-powered act of pure showmanship Ruby had ever had the chance to witness. 

As she watched the white knight force Nidhog back, step by step, Ruby felt herself frown, her gaze flickering back to that incredible supply of pure Dust ore even the SDC had seen as too dangerous to harvest. 

_A well-placed explosion._ Ruby's eyes widened as the idea struck her. It was stupidly foolhardy, but this was the only option they had left. 

Setting her jaw, Ruby flashed back to Weiss, protective, Crescent Rose ready to make a bisection of whatever Grimm dared lunged from the dark for her partner now that she'd made it back. 

While Ruby had bought them time with Nidhog, Weiss had faced the rest of the nest alone. At some point, she'd thrown up a wall of jagged ice to shield herself from the worst of it, but now it lay in shards about her. Focused on the mental drain of the summon, Weiss been hit hard by the smaller taijitu, her cheek scratched, her jacket torn and blood spotting the grey fabric. 

Myrtenaster was still raised in a straining block, mirroring the white knight's to reinforce it with mental congruity as it pinned the ancient serpent, but her stance nearly swayed from pain and exhaustion. Her teeth were bared but her eyes were vacant, dangerously consumed by the summon and locked in a mirror as Nidhog bore down on its blade. 

Ruby's heart clenched. They had to act now--before the taijitu could get the better of the knight. 

She looked back to the pinpricks of light, to where she knew the cavern ended and the ruins began. Even though the entrance had caved in behind them, it was still a way out, still _safety_ , and maybe it was worth the chance. Ruby knew she was fast--alone, she could absolutely make it, even as tired as she was. But with Weiss? 

Ruby would _have_ to do it, or she'd die trying. 

She grasped Weiss' shoulder, shaking her partner as hard as she dared, praying Weiss would hear her beyond the fog of exhaustion and the consuming presence of the knight in her mind. 

"Throw the big one toward the fissure!"

Weiss' gaze flickered to Ruby's, vague and first but sharpening as the words sank in. She asked no questions, demanded nothing--an incredible act of trust in Ruby's plan, in Ruby _herself._ With a strangled cry, the knight mirrored her movements one last time, hurling the serpent toward the crimson fissure of Dust before it shattered like glass. 

Ruby had only the space of moments to enact her plan. Raising Crescent Rose, she brought its scope up to her eye and fired a single, incendiary shot, aiming beyond Nidhog, beyond the rest of the nest, instead targeting the volatile crystals that had drawn them all to this moment, this place.

She couldn't spare the instant to ensure her shot was true, pivoting sharp as she drew deep on the dregs of what aura and semblance was left to her, sweeping Weiss into her arms. 

Ruby _ran._ There was no time left for safety nor concern for her own wellbeing, every limit to her semblance and endurance broken as she left even sound behind her, rocketing in a twist of endless time through the abandoned mine. She felt Weiss' fingers dig hard into her shoulders as she spurred herself faster, felt her partner twisting to raise Myrtenaster against supersonic speed. 

Time crawled, white glyphs forming ahead of them as if in slow-motion, flashes of fire and concussive force bursting a hole--an escape--right through the side of the ruined building ahead of them. Her vision blackening alarmingly at the edges, Ruby hurled herself and Weiss through, crashing into afternoon daylight almost blinding in its brightness. 

Ruby didn't stop, and they covered almost a mile in the blink of an eye. It was only when trees loomed up ahead of them that she felt sure she'd put enough distance between them and the mine, Nidhog, _death_ , her boots digging divots into the grassy earth as she desperately tried to stop. 

As exhausted as she was, Ruby couldn't fight the momentum. 

Instinctively, Ruby twisted her body as they fell, cushioning Weiss' fall as they skidded backwards over the grass--until finally they stopped. 

Sound returned in a rush that left Ruby lightheaded, the ground beneath them rumbling terrifying and violent as the distant ridge and ruins began to collapse, a fireball of ignited Dust consuming both the old mine and the taijitu nest. Ruby could feel the heat from the blast from here, taste the spent Dust like ash on her tongue, rocks showering through the forest canopy, Weiss' body shielding Ruby from the worst of it. 

By the time the explosion within the ridge began to fade, Ruby's vision was no longer threatening to go dark, no matter the way her body trembled from exertion, pain, _adrenaline_. Her thoughts still a blur, Ruby couldn't relax, her entire body still rigid. How safe were they? Had that explosion really killed that ancient taijitu? What about the ridge, was it about to come crumbling down on their heads--

" _Ruby_!"

Ruby flinched, looking back up at Weiss, still crushed to her chest with a bruising hold. Weiss was bloody and battered, her expression pained, her breath hitched, but she was _alive_. Despite the stupidity of the dangerous situation they'd found themselves, they'd made it out the other side together. 

Ruby felt a dizzying wash of relief and adoration rise up in her chest, and carefully, she loosened her hold about Weiss. 

"That was... a bigger bang than I thought," she admitted, her voice hoarse, and god it felt good to just reach out and touch the blood-soaked hair over Weiss' scar. It didn't matter how her hands trembled from exhaustion, from panic and pure, rushed adrenaline. 

"You _moron._ You could have killed us both!" Weiss' hand gripped the side of Ruby's face, her gloved thumbs brushing along her cheekbone. Her blue eyes like fire as she demanded, "After everything I've taught you about Dust, how is it that you're still managing to blow us both up on a monthly schedule?"

Startled, Ruby stared up at her, and for one terrifying moment she was convinced Weiss was actually still mad at her. Then Weiss began to laugh, the sound of it weary, elated, and absolute _music_ to Ruby's ears. She joined in, and while it hurt her head and her arm and her whole damn body, it was okay. 

_They_ were okay. 

"Did you see the size of that thing's teeth?" Ruby asked, and she couldn't figure out how to stop smiling. She wasn't sure she ever _wanted_ to stop, for all the rest of her life.

"I can scarcely believe it. A Grimm that old..." Weiss winced as she pushed herself up a fraction, her hand straying to her ribs again. Her smile grew wry as she tilted her head, adding, "It puts that wyvern from Beacon's fall to shame."

Ruby hummed beneath her breath, content enough with the analysis, letting her fingertips trail Weiss' brow, brushing at her bloodied bangs with idle care. 

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Ruby asked, and maybe she _was_ just a little giddy with pain and exhilaration when she added, "Totally saved your butt in there."

That earned her a scoff, Weiss' eyebrows rising sharply. "As I saved _yours."_

Ruby grinned, remembering that white knight's shoulder knocking Nidhog backwards, just in the nick of time. "Yeah, you _did."_

Weiss exhaled, a huff of laughter, but those sky blue eyes lingered on Ruby's features, the colour of them sharp against the drying blood on her skin, the brilliant orange of the foliage above them. Despite the way she felt like she could burst with happiness, Ruby's smile flickered. A very different sort of thrill raced down her spine, piercing through the haze of pain and exhaustion that had settled over her body.

That wasn't just white-hot adrenaline she read in Weiss' expression, and breathing deep, she let her bloodied hand rest at the corner of Weiss' jaw. Smoke and the smell of spent Dust lingered on Weiss' coat and skin, coalescing with the every other scent Ruby associated with her partner and heat of her body, solid and strong in Ruby's arms and _god_ she never wanted to let go. 

Silent, Ruby studied her face, greedily drinking in Weiss' every feature and shift of expression, from the split in her lip to the long scratches on her cheek. 

"Ruby." Weiss swallowed, wetting her lips with the tip of her tongue. Her voice was hoarse and unsteady. "I…"

Ruby met her halfway in a crushing kiss, her grasp white-knuckled as she twisted her hands hard into Weiss' collar. If she'd believed their kiss in the cavern had been searing, it was time to reconsider because this put it to shame. Weiss' exhale was frantic as she sank down against Ruby, and while Ruby could feel her body trembling through her grasp at her collar, the sensation of her mouth was scorching and sure. 

Ruby dragged her closer, groaning low into the kiss as Weiss' teeth sank into her lower lip _just right,_ the constant slick heat of her tongue smoothing away any pain and every thought. 

Gods, Ruby had needed this even more than she'd realised, and while it had only been slightly more than a day since the last she'd kissed Weiss like this, she felt completely starved for touch. Shifting, she slipped her leg between the both of Weiss', longing to feel the answering hitch of hips against her thigh, rewarded by the tiny, muffled groan as Weiss buried her face in Ruby's throat. 

The pain in Ruby's shoulder had been reduced to a muted, annoying buzz at the back of her mind, and biting down on her own lip she tilted her head back, a groan of wordless approval as Weiss' mouth trailed wet suction down her throat, tongue swirling hot at her pulse. Everything felt hazy, and her eyes half-lidded, she stared at the golden foliage above them, the teasing lap and hungry caress of Weiss' mouth sending heat flooding through her every cell, electric against her skin.

God, Ruby didn't know when they were going to stop. If they could stop. If she even wanted to. 

The hot, unsteady exhale of Weiss' breath against her throat was enough to answer the question as Ruby's hips rocked against her, experimental. She smoothed her hands down the length of Weiss' spine, raising friction and heat through the sturdy cloth until she grasped the smooth curve of that ass through her jeans. 

_Feels better_ , Ruby thought, her thoughts vague and impossibly feverish as she let Weiss tilt her chin up in another kiss, hungry, hot and desperate, the angle and the drag of Weiss' mouth both harsh enough to wring the whimper from her throat.

She grasped at Weiss' hips blindly, rolling her hips again, her thumbs pressing into the jut of bone at each side, panting. God, this was too much to bear and she needed this, she needed _Weiss--_

"Please tell me you aren't teasing me," Ruby managed, breathless as she drew back, and it sounded pleading even to her own ears as she caught Weiss' fingers, bringing them up to her mouth as she tugged the glove free, her tongue flicking out, the taste of sweat and Dust stinging. "Please tell me you _aren't_ going to torture me again."

Weiss didn't answer, her blue eyes feverish as she stared down at Ruby, her cheeks flushed, her weight shifting just enough as her fingertips skimmed up the inside of Ruby's thigh, moving higher and then--

Ruby cried out at the first touch of Weiss' fingertips against her underwear, her entire body seeming to tremble from the rush of adrenaline and excitement as Weiss' touch grew firmer, more certain. She arched, her mind blanking but for the desperate need for more pressure, more friction, just _more_ , her breath coming ragged and short. She was only satisfied when Weiss shifted again, easing her hand into her underwear and drawing a firm line against the slickness between her legs.

"Is that better?" Weiss' voice was unsteady against the shell of Ruby's ear, scorching and sharp. Her breath caught, a tiny sound in her throat as she slid a finger inside.

 _"Yes."_ Ruby's fingers dug hard into the small of Weiss' back, her fingernails scraping beneath both coat and shirt to raise red marks down the length of her partner's spine. At the addition of another finger, far less gentle this time, Ruby shuddered, her groan louder this time, an edge to it she couldn't contain as she managed, _"Weiss."_

Weiss' mouth claimed her own then, the thrust of her fingers growing harder, faster, even punishing, and Ruby clutched at Weiss' back as a rough thumb circled her clit, sparks dancing in front of her eyes. Maybe it was painful and maybe wasn't, but the wet friction between her legs consumed her every thought until she was crying out into Weiss' kiss, giving her everything until her breath hitched and her entire body ratcheted tight. Too soon, _far too soon_ \--

Ruby climaxed with Weiss' name on her lips, her hips jerking as she rode the shockwaves until the last of them faded away, leaving her replete and incredible, _wonderfully_ dazed. Blinking away the stars still dancing in her eyes, Ruby twitched as Weiss carefully pulled her hand away from the slick ache between her legs, and her groan was both satisfied and protesting. 

Hazy, Ruby sank down to the ground, staring up at Weiss. She'd always loved the way lovemaking did away with Weiss' natural reservedness, but even now she felt taken aback by the unguarded adoration in her partner's eyes, the warmth of the smile on her lips.

Ruby loved her, more than anything else in the world. 

Before Weiss could escape any further, Ruby reached out, tangling her hands in Weiss' lapels again, yanking her down into a kiss that was still hot, still hungry despite her own satisfaction. Weiss made a strangled sound in her throat but didn't protest, the slant of her mouth starving.

"My turn," Ruby told her with a small laugh, turning her mouth against Weiss' ear, nipping at it, kissing a trail that raised red marks against Weiss' skin. Her tongue lapped at the pulse in Weiss' throat, just to feel it flutter beneath her tongue, just to feel Weiss' breath catch--just to feel her tremble beneath the attention like a leaf in the wind. 

Fire stoking hotter in her stomach, hotter than she could bear because _god she was only human_ , Ruby reached for Weiss' belt, fumbling with the buckle but unwilling to release her white-knuckled grasp of Weiss' coat collar. Finally getting it loose, she pushed Weiss' jeans down her hips, not far but enough for her purposes, making a small sound in the back of her throat as she slid her hand down the front. 

Weiss was soaked. Ruby's lips curved into a delighted smile as she drew a small circle against the worst of it, drawing out a pained inhale, sharp and stuttering as Weiss braced herself against an arm she'd placed beside Ruby's head. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips parted in silent ecstasy as Ruby's fingers sought her clit, the shaky jerk of her hips at even the lightest press enough to tell Ruby how dangerously close she was to the edge. 

Ruby adjusted, determined to get a better angle for Weiss, sliding her hand down the front of Weiss' underwear to slip in one finger, and then two, drinking in her every change in expression at each slow circle of Ruby's thumb against her clit, the way she trembled with each gentle, lazy thrust Ruby allowed her. 

Weiss rocked into her, wetting her lips, feverish but still silent. That was nowhere _near_ okay. 

Ruby hummed beneath her breath, her hand stilling, content to simply wait as Weiss' eyelids cracked open, the tiny sound of pure frustration she made in her throat the only concession to the whole thing she'd made. 

_So far,_ Ruby corrected herself, releasing her hold on Weiss' coat collar, trailing her finger down the line of Weiss' jaw, dragging her thumb across the curve of her lips. 

"Let me hear you," Ruby told her, her voice warm and encouraging, and careful, she circled Weiss' clit again. "Please."

Weiss swayed at the accompanying curl of Ruby's fingers within her, and she buried her face into the side of Ruby's neck as finally she allowed a groan to bubble up between her lips. It was low, reluctant, but as Ruby rewarded her with another slow circle of her thumb and a languid thrust, another slipped free, louder this time, a desperate line of sharp tension her voice.

Weiss was hers and hers alone, the thought of it possessive and white-hot. She was there with Ruby, she'd _chosen_ to be here with her, in the wild fighting side by side, and even though they'd very nearly died...

Ruby's breath caught, unsteady, and her touch growing heavy and rough in just the way Weiss' had been. She buried her face in Weiss' collarbone, her mouth raising bruises and her arm cramping from the pace, but she kept going until finally she felt Weiss' entire body seize up, felt her ruck down hard into Ruby's palm. Her entire body trembling, Weiss finally came with a broken cry against Ruby's ear. 

Ruby's hand slowed, letting her touch become gentle but keeping the rhythm, drawing the last of Weiss' climax from her in lazy strokes, her attention rapt on Weiss' expression with every thrust and shudder. It was only when she felt Weiss sag against her, completely spent that Ruby stilled and withdrew her hand, turning her face into the side of Weiss' neck and pressing a soft and gentle kiss to it. 

Exhaling in a quiet laugh, Ruby wrapped her arms about her partner, content to just hold her close. This was everything she'd ever wanted. _Weiss_ was everything she'd ever wanted. 

"That was..." Weiss cleared her throat, pulling back from Ruby no matter the way she still trembled. "I hadn't been _intending_ on getting so... carried away."

"'Carried away'," Ruby repeated, reaching up with her hand to brush Weiss' cheek. The blood had mostly dried, but given their critical aura levels, she knew they'd be carrying the reminders of the taijitu nest for days. "I mean, I knew you got off fighting _a little,_ but you've never jumped me before."

Weiss' face flushed scarlet, and she leaned back from Ruby, her eyes narrowed. "Ruby, I swear to god if you don't shut your mouth--"

"Maybe you should shut it for me." Ruby grinned up at her, only satisfied when Weiss rolled her eyes and complied, her mouth soft and sweet, her kisses clinging. 

"This was a terrible idea," Weiss murmured against her lips, her voice low, but there was a pleased lilt to it that warmed Ruby's stomach. 

"But also the _best_ idea." Ruby hummed beneath her breath, and while she knew it might very well earn her even more of Weiss' ire, she couldn't help but add, "I know I found it totally hot you couldn't resist doing the do right here and now. Sort of reminds me of a chapter in _Ninjas of Love_."

Weiss groaned in disgust, but her scowl wasn't genuine and the both of them knew it. 

She was so beautiful, and a part of Ruby still marvelled at the very idea that she was really allowed to live her dream of being a huntress--and that she had Weiss by her side for every moment. Weiss, the pretty heiress who'd lectured her so fiercely on their very first day at Beacon. Weiss, who'd come to trust Ruby with her life, just as Ruby had come to trust Weiss in return. 

Together, they endured the miserable weather and the sleepless nights where they were forced to take shifts at keeping guard, the dangerous Grimm, the dwindling funds. Even having walked away from the SDC, Weiss could have done _anything_ with her life. 

Instead, she'd chosen Ruby. 

Ruby's throat constricted. She... hadn't done the right thing by Weiss yesterday, had she? She hadn't understood about the money thing, but perhaps a better way to describe it was that she hadn't _wanted_ to understand. The reality was that she _got_ why Weiss had been angry, the lack of discussion on a decision that had impacted them both a damning reminder of a life she'd walked away from. 

They both had ghosts, some of them with names and some without. It had been wrong of Ruby to invoke Weiss', even with the best intentions. 

She couldn't bear the idea of them fighting with each other, after everything they'd been through, and even if the whole non-payment argument had actually been pretty mild as far as Weiss-explosions went it had still lingered. Just a scratch, but even they could grow so easily infected without proper care. 

Uncomfortable, Ruby shifted, toying with the loose end of Weiss' belt just for a distraction. Just to help her focus. 

"You know," she started, hesitating when Weiss' gaze flickered back to her, her expression questioning. She forced herself on, remembering it was important. She could flub pretty badly when it came to people, but with Weiss she'd always figured out a way to make it all work. "I really meant what I said in there, about being sorry."

Weiss' eyebrows rose a fraction. "About this being your fault? That's giving you far too much credit for our collective poor decisions."

Ruby felt herself smile at the wry twist in Weiss' voice, and a part of her was tempted to let the matter slide, to just do _better_ next time. But that wouldn't have been fair, not when Weiss was always the first to admit when she was wrong--at least these days. 

"I meant... about the money thing." Ruby studied Weiss' expression, searching for every tiny tell and shift to get a better feel for what her partner was thinking, what she was feeling. "I know you said what was done was done, but I know you've been mad at me ever since yesterday morning. And I get why!" 

Weiss' lips thinned. "Ruby, it isn't--"

"I don't want to make you feel like you don't get to have a say." Ruby hesitated, shying away from outright mentioning the word "father", but she knew Weiss would read it into her words anyway. Her heart in her throat, she ploughed on. "I _know_ I can be a little impulsive, but you're the most important person in my life and I--I guess I wasn't really thinking like a good partner, and you're right to be mad about that."

Weiss was silent, and for the longest time, Ruby was convinced she was going to agree, going to launch into one of those old tirades that had become so few and far between. Whatever Weiss' reaction really was, it could come--Ruby had needed to be honest, had needed to clear the air between them. She refused to regret that. 

The smile on Weiss' lips was hesitant, but that knot of worry in Ruby's stomach loosened as it grew into something completely and incredibly genuine. 

"I know. And it's not like I'm perfect, either. I didn't really talk about..." Weiss exhaled, looking away from Ruby for a moment. "Why, I suppose. I just took it out on you, even when I was trying to avoid that."

Ruby stared at her, and there was really nothing to do but ride the wave of dizzying adoration that rose up in her chest at Weiss' words. Laughing, she buried her face in Weiss' chest, her arms closing about Weiss' back in a hug. 

"This is so _dumb,"_ she said, her voice muffled in the dusty lapels of Weiss' coat. 

She felt Weiss' body stiffen, defensive as she shot back, _"You_ started it."

Still laughing, Ruby tackled her in a burst of speed and petals, and while using her semblance when her aura was so exhausted set her vision to blurring, her shoulder to bleeding all over again and her entire body to one huge, raw ache, it was so totally worth it. 

Below her, she heard Weiss groan, her breath hissing through her teeth as she managed, "God, I think you just bruised my ribs all over again."

Ruby ducked her head, carefully moving so she was tucked into Weiss' side instead, burying her face into her warm shoulder. "Nobody said love wasn't painful."

"Especially when I'm in love with _you._ " Weiss' touch against her jaw was gentle, even if her sigh was totally long-suffering. Ruby watched her expression, loving the twist of amusement to her lips as she finally continued. "Next time you want to send out your bleeding heart and remit payment for a big job... I'm just going to suggest maybe a discount. _That_ would be a good compromise."

Her eyebrows drawing together, Ruby lifted her head, staring at Weiss in complete disbelief. Her mind felt entirely, stupidly _numb_. 

"A discount," Ruby repeated, and as her strength fled her, she let her head fall back to Weiss' shoulder. They could have avoided this whole thing if she'd only remembered that _discounts exist._ Muffled against Weiss' collar, she groaned, "Why didn't I _think_ of that?"

Above her, Weiss began to laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it. One gigantic mess of feelings, action and smut that was intended to be a porn without plot affair, but I got carried away. Such is my fate, if I'm perfectly honest.
> 
> I'll just have to write an actual PWP fic to redeem myself. I have a couple of ideas in mind!
> 
> Thank you all for reading along and commenting! Every single one of them makes my day. :D
> 
> If you want to hang out or chat (or snap up a few prompts when I put out a call for them) please come visit me at my tumblrs - [zerrat](zerrat.tumblr.com) (personal plus terrible memes) or [verdantei](verdantei.tumblr.com) (which is geared more toward RWBY).


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